President George W. Bush’s proposal to boost benefits for families of fallen soldiers is a much-needed plan, but it needs some fine-tuning.

Under the current proposal, a tax-free “death gratuity” would grow from $12,420 to $100,000.

The premier objective of the new proposal is to further cover those fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to David Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

But, the increase is only for those soldiers who died in a “war zone” as designated by the secretary of defense.

This sends a disrespectful and insulting message. Families that lose a soldier who has dedicated his or her life to serving the country do not grieve any more if their loved one dies in a certain “zone.” Soldiers die for their country, whether they are in Iraq or any other country. The amount of money paid to their families shouldn’t depend on where they were or how they died.

What matters is that America is losing sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers to war, and those lives are priceless. Families couldn’t possibly put any kind of price tag on the life that was lost, and for the United States to slap a $12,420 price tag on it is an insult.

And now that a proposal for an increase has been made, it needs to be extended to all soldiers who die for America. For the United States to say that one life is worth $100,000 and another only $12,420 is wrong.